Let's get these two hearts beating faster
by Dani Rose Ventra
Summary: Sequel to Oh! Loving hate. Rukia wants to leave Ichigo once and for all. Her wish comes true in the worst possible way.
1. Chapter 1

Let's get these two hearts beating faster

Chapter one

-

"I think she's coming through". A motherly voice spoke and Rukia groggily opened her eyes and gasped in pain. Rukia woke up to blinding white room and moaned in agony. She couldn't remember how she got there but the conservation that led to it made her cringe. _Ichigo! _She shot out of her bed and tried weakly to pull the IV lines attached to her arm, but the nurse was faster than she was and pushed her down on the bed.

"No I have to know what happened to Ichigo", She said desperately. "Take me to Ichigo now! I NEED to see him!"

"Now, now dear, I can't take you in your condition." The nurse tried to assure her, but Rukia was stubborn. It was all her fault. If she hadn't been so upset and jealous, she wouldn't have ended up in her situation, laying in her hospital bed.

"If you don't take me now, I'll sue this hospital for all it's worth!" Rukia screamed, hoping to intimidate the nurse with her status.

"What is going on in here? Mrs. Kurosaki what are you doing out of bed, and in your condition, you need to rest." Said a man with black spiked hair. He looked so much like Ichigo that it hurt her to know that her husband was somewhere she couldn't reach him, but when the doctor reminded her of her _delicate _situation, she hugged her stomach in horror.

Did her baby survive? She didn't get to tell Ichigo about the baby, the second one of his she had in her –afraid of the situation that put her into the marriage in the first place with the birth of her first son, Kyuuka. "H-how is my baby?", Rukia asked weakly, trembling at the thought of a miscarriage with Ichigo's baby.

The doctor patted her back reassuringly. "The baby is safe, but I need you to calm down, or the baby will get upset".

Rukia did but her hand tugged on his bleached white coat. "How is Ichigo? Is he alright?"

The doctor grimaced. "He is in a coma right now."

Rukia gasped. "How long has it been?" the doctor flipped through the pages in his folder. "About 4 hours right now, but don't worry I will inform you when he wakes up, for now, I need you to rest."

Rukia nodded mutely, not even noticing the motherly nurses return and the injection into her arm and then darkness.

-

I'd been a week and Rukia was getting restless when the nurses still evaded her questions about husband. She had been released three days ago and was still not allowed to see her husband for "health reasons", so she her brother and sister in law, Kaien and Misa had taken her home to her baby boy, but when the hospital still did not call after another restless nights, Rukia decided to take matters to her own will and walked right into her husbands hospital room.

She had to see him awake and living, but what she saw reminded her of what she was soon to lose. There he was, bare-chested in the tiny hospital bed, still overbearingly powerful and strong despite the bandages around his mid waist –but it wasn't how he looked that had her in chokeing back memories. It was the almost intimately position he was in with his secretary…Orihime.

Somewhere _**she**_ should have been, and before she could think before speaking, the words flew out of her mouth. "I thought visiting hours were _only_ for family".

Orihime turned to her and smiled. In a practiced mock hurt she said with familiar malicious words, "Of course but I think I qualify. I of course know him better than anyone else besides his mother. We are childhood friends after all."

"Of course she didn't mean that," Ichigo's mother assured her. Rukia winced, but of course they would consider Orihime as a part of their family, she had already used that excuse countless times.

"Who is this girl, and who does she go off speaking to Orihime like that", Ichigo barked at Rukia, staring at her with an unfamiliarity and coldness that Rukia had never encountered before.

Rukia staggered back. "W-what you don't know who I am?" Rukia asked trembling and holding onto Kaien's arm when she realized that Ichigo, the man she loved more than life had just forgotten her.

Ichigo frowned at Kaien with displeasure written all over his face. "Why is she holding onto you like a lifeline Kaien, the only woman allowed to do that is Misa," he said coldly.

The next thing she knew, they brought her out of the hospital room and sat her down onto the bench, but all Rukia could think of was how he could forget her!

Rukia turned to Ichigo's mother with hurt filled eyes, "Why didn't you tell me he had amnesia?"

"We didn't know either, he asked about Kyuuka as usual, he seemed to have memories of his son, and he recognized all of us just fine".

"But that makes no sense! How could he remember Kyuuka, but not the women who gave birth to him"! Ichigo's mother hugged her. "I'm sorry dear. I don't know what else to say but I know that no son of mine would purposely try to forget a woman like you".

But Rukia thought otherwise.

-

The second time she arrived at Ichigo's hospital bed she came prepared. The doctor James had told her to rethink visiting until Ichigo had asked for her but she just _couldn't_ stay away from him.

She wore her dark blue chiffon dress that went right above her knees and a dark gray wool cardigan with black stiletto pumps. It was Ichigo's favorite outfit and she hoped that by wearing it, it would help him remember her.

When she walked in, the scene she saw made her heart ache with want. Ichigo lay in his bed; half naked from the chest and a scantily clad Orihime sat on his bed feeding him hospital food with an intimacy she knew she wanted.

Rukia could not believe the pain she felt looking at the coziness and intimacy between the two.

Ichigo had obviously found no need for her company when he banned her from his room and yet he welcomed Orihime with open arms –enough for him to ask her to hand feed him as if _**she **_was his wife.

It should have been her, coaxing him to eat and the first one he would ask to visit. Did he not care for her anymore? She was once again second place and the pain did not lessen the sharp edge inching into her heart. But not only did he forget her, he also forgot about the baby. The guilt she felt that day in the car that drove her right into this situation gave her a will and determination to win Ichigo's love back.

They both looked up at her in the entrance and was sure they didn't see the pain, regret and guilt she felt. "I didn't know your assistant duties also ran playing nursemaid."

Ichigo's amber eyes darkened in obvious displeasure. "Why the hell not. You weren't here to fulfill them."

She couldn't believe he just said that. If it weren't for the doctor, she would have been here faster than she could wink. "You didn't ask for me".

"And that should stop you from coming to your husbands bed?" He derided. "You're here now and I still haven't asked for you."

Orihime got up and walked towards Rukia with a smug look on her face. "I think I'll leave now. I wouldn't want to be the cause of a domestic fight." She implied they had many. James had told her not to tell him about the baby, afraid that it might upset him and she knew that talking another baby he had with her would overwhelm him.

Rukia stepped aside and whispered to Orihime, "You get what you give Orihime." Orihime smiled. "Oh I will, once you let him go."

Rukia was shocked to hear for the first time to hear Orihime's true intentions. "I'm never letting go," Rukia promised, but Orihime didn't seem to be fazed.

"You won't have a choice". And with that she left the room.

Burning with the desire to punch Orihime she marched in the room. She'd given Ichigo her heart and a beautiful son, but he would have to follow through. Ever since he had married her for the baby, she wondered how long this relationship would last and why he made love to her when he obviously had Orihime.

Rukia brushed against his bed. "The doctor told me you could go home tomorrow."

He stared at her through eyes that memorized her and yet remained impassive. "Yeah. I'll finish the meetings and then return home to Japan." Not **we**, but _I. _

She tried not to let what he said bother her and switched her attention to his mushy plate. "Is that all your going to eat?"

"Yes."

"But you should eat more and regain your strength."

"I'm fine. If you're so concerned, maybe you shouldn't have scared off the woman who was convincing me to eat this shit." _Her_ frighten Orihime? Not on her watch!

"Are you telling me you need someone to entice you to eat?" Rukia mocked.

Ichigo's eyebrows quirked. "Maybe I am. Can you take the job?"

His tone implied that she could never seduce him to anything, but if she didn't already have a baby with him –she would prove it now.

She took off her coat and laid it over the chair and touched his lips –something quite daring that she would have done. "I know how to feed all of your hungers," she said huskily, hoping that she sounded promiscuous with passion and lust.

His eyes turned to a familiar gold and his jaw tensed, something she remembered he did when he was trying to hold back his control for her. His touch didn't leave her unaffected either. Even the smallest touch sent jolts of electric rush racing through her body –their reaction to each other and never anyone else.

Ichigo jerked his head back, his eyes narrowing –in contempt. "Did you **trap** me into this marriage by_ using _your body?"

-


	2. Chapter 2

Let's Get These Two Hearts Beating Faster

Teddy Anders Loves Skhyler

Chapter Two

-

Rukia was shocked into submission. Her hand dropped. "I wasn't the one seducing in this relationship".

"Orihime insinuated that you used your body and the birth of my son to trick me into this marriage. Is it true?" He demanded.

What could she say, for it was true! She grit her teeth, but she knew she was denying something that was true all along. "We did get married because I was pregnant with Kyuuka, but it was no trap. I didn't get pregnant on purpose."

Ichigo frowned as if he couldn't believe it. Ichigo had always believed in her, even when she told him she was pregnant, he never questioned that it wasn't his and he always treated her with respect and love and attention to show she mattered. Not more than the yakuuza, but she was use to second place.

"You love your son", she said.

"I'm aware of that. It is one of the reasons that I still remember him." Sharp talons of pains shot at her heart and she wondered if she could stand anymore of this.

He seemed to acknowledge it. "But I thank you for giving birth to such a wonderful child."

It only seemed to hurt her more when he said that. She didn't need his thanks. She just wanted his love.

She stood up. It was a mistake to come after all. She grabbed her coat. "You don't have to thank me, I love our son just as much as you do." She turned to put it on.

He seized her arm to stop her. "Where do you think your going?"

"Back to the hotel. It's obvious that my company had no use." She hated the weakness she heard in her voice. She needed to get out of there.

"Like hell! You're my wife and this if the first time you decided to visit me in 3 days. You can't walk out after we've only been talking for 5 minuets."

"_You didn't want me to come!"_ She couldn't stop the hot tears from filling her eyes, but she tried to blink them back. "Y-you told the doctor".

"And that upset you?" He asked with supreme lack of emotion.

"Well duh!" How could he be so cruel? Even if he didn't remember her was he totally insensitive to what a woman in her situation was going through. _"I love you. How could that not upset me?"_

"You love me?" he asked with derision she did not deserve. "The evidence is not in your favor. You were nowhere around when I was in my coma. No one told you to stay away."

"I had my own hospital bed to stay in!"

"With a small concussion. If you loved me, you would have had both our beds together hoping for my awakening."

Rukia never imagined the lack of her appearance from his bed would affect him. But somehow he took this as proof that she was a bad wife. She couldn't care less at that moment. What difference did it make? He obviously had never wanted to marry her in the first place.

But no matter how mad she was, apart of her wanted to explain herself about the beds and the baby, but James had told her not to reveal anything to Ichigo until the knew what was wrong and what had caused it.

She wondered if it would make a difference. She didn't think so.

"I didn't think about that." She admitted with pained honesty, just wanting to leave.

"Maybe you should have."

"Apparently, but we all aren't powerful, swindling yakuuza leaders who can still think of logical answers while in the hospital bed."

Ichigo grumbled. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

"I know, but you don't seem to appreciate anything about me now. And let's face it…you didn't exactly miss me. You forgot my existence!"

"You make it sound like I did it on purpose."

"Didn't you?"

"Maybe I had a reason."

"Is that what Orihime told you? That I'm a demon sent from hell that tormented you where you had to forget me?"

His silence said it all.

"_And you believed her?"_

"Everything pointed to you. Why would I want to forget you unless I wanted to because I found you intolerable and suffocating?"

He didn't sound convinced but the words damaged her.

"That's a big assumption." She forced out to him in stiff lips cold with shock at his revelation.

"Maybe you wanted to forget you had a wife. Before I had Kyuuka, you didn't want any commitment with me." She voiced out her suspicion.

"I'm not weak." But she could tell that an image of him did not suit him.

"Maybe there's no reason for your amnesia. Maybe its one of those medical things that just happens sometimes."

He shook his head, rejecting her thought. "I don't think so. The doctor can't find any physical damage for selective amnesia."

"Did James say that you wanted to forget me?"

"James?"

"Doctor James."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I find it odd that my wife is on first name terms with my doctor."

"He was my doctor to me too. While you were in coma, he knew how upset I was and as kind to me."

"Well even your _good friend _the doctor says the amnesia is psychological."

Rukia fumed under the 'good friend', but let it pass.

"But that doesn't make me a bad wife. I know your too smart than to let yourself into a marriage that you didn't want."

"I wonder if our marriage was the only way you would give me power in my son's life."

"You think I use Kyuuka to blackmail you?"

He shrugged. "if it is, I'm surprised I fell for it when I watched the Queen of scams do it to my uncle. The love of a child can make any man stupid."

Rukia stumbled back and hit the chair. "You think I'm like the Queen of scams?" She asked horrified.

It was the worst kind of insult to compare her to the woman who had nearly destroyed the Kurosaki family, who was selfish, money and power hungry. It was amazing such a woman could birth Misa who was kind and gentle. Misa and Kaien's love seemed to be one of the eight wonders of the world.

James walked in and frowned when he took in her tear streaked face and Ichigo's frustrated one. "Rukia, I wasn't aware that your husband asked for you?"

She was silent. "He didn't"

"My wife does not need an invitation to visit me", Ichigo glared at the doctor. "Nor do I like to the familiarity you address her."

"I'm sorry it offends you, but this kind of upset isn't good for your condition," He said indicating the both of them.

"My condition is stable with minor injuries." Ichigo said in a freezing tone. "By having your wife here, she should be bale to jog my memory, not harm it."

"She's in tears."

"I noticed. If you leave I can take care of that."

The doctor's brow rose at his arrogance and nodded. "That might be best. This can't be easy on you two. I'll come back to discuss your release."

Rukia scrambled to her feet, wiping her cheeks, embarrassed and hurting so much she found it hard to breathe. "Don't leave James. It's okay, I'm going."

"Like hell you are!" Ichigo growled.

She tried to pull her coat from Ichigo's grip but he wouldn't let go.

"Let go".

"I told you. I won't let you leave so quickly".

She had enough. He probably wanted the doctor to leave so he could hurt her more with ugly words, but she wasn't sticking around. She let her coat go and rushed toward the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Let's get these two hearts beating faster

Chapter three

-

Ichigo called her name in a voice heavy of frustration and demand. Rukia ignored him and barreled out of his room almost knocking Orihime down in the process. Rukia suspected that she had hung around the room to eavesdrop on their conversation.

The smirk on her face showed that she liked what she heard.

Rukia felt painful after that interview and could only see red when she was near Orihime. Literally. A blood-red haze surrounded the tall busted redhead as Rukia glared at her, incable of moving past her without hitting her first. Orihime before, had used all her powers to try and break apart her marriage to Ichigo and was now bent on using her powers again to destroy it completely.

Rukia wouldn't let this happen. She'd be dammed if their marriage broke up because she lost her cool. If she and Ichigo failed in sharing their life any further, she'd be happier knowing it was because he didn't love her anymore, than to let the conniving Orihime succeed in her plans of becoming Mrs. Kurosaki. The woman was pure poison, and this time she would not let that poison taint her family any longer. Desperation and anger clawed at her insides. She was going to fight for her man and her marriage, no matter what it took!

"You better watch where you're going." Orihime shoved her against the wall, making no attempt to be polite and Rukia fell against the wall.

Rukia's sudden maternity instincts shot up and the anger she suppressed came rushing out. "Don't you **ever** touch me again."

Orihime sneered and ignored Rukia's anger. "Or what Mrs. Kurasaki? You'll tell Ichigo? Do you really think he cares now? I'm his true friend, the women he remembers. He let me feed him, but he pushed you away," she said, confirming that she was listening to the door. "He doesn't mind my touch, he trusts me. Do you really think he cares if I'm rude to you or if he'll even believe you if you told him so? He's already _forgotten you_. You're nothing to him. It won't be long till he'll kick you out of the house as quickly as you came into it."

Rukia' mind screeched at the viciously mocking words. She couldn't think. She could only feel the rawest piece of anger spread through her body. She slapped the other women hard. The violence shocked her but she wouldn't apologize.

Orihime stumbled back stunned.

"Your not going to get away with it," Rukia finally said when she was able to form words.

Orihime narrowed her eyes, "You're wrong. I can outsmart you who couldn't even prevent an accidental pregnancy."

"You told him I got pregnant on purpose."

"He came to that conclusion by himself."

"But you led him there." Orihime just shrugged her head as if to say _so what._ "He shouldn't have ever married you. You were never in his league and never will be."

"One day he's going to remember. You know that don't you?" she demanded. "Don't think for a moment that he'll thank you with a wedding band for lying to him about the kind of wife I am. Ichigo demands honesty and respect and when he finds out about what you've done you'll never get out alive."

Orihime smiled, still smug in her victory. "Ichigo and I were friends before you and when you're gone I'll still be here."

Rukia stood up taller, facing the fiery redhead. "_Friends_ **is** the keyword. I _was_ his lover and _now_ I'm his wife and I'm not going anywhere."

"I might not be his wife, but how do you know I wasn't his lover?"

"Like I said, Ichigo is an honorable man and he would never lower himself to such low standards, he has what I like to call integrity."

Ichigo had promised that he hadn't and she would believe him. She wasn't sure if Orihime at one point in her life was ever his lover, but she refused to believe that Ichigo would have an affair with her. Without an opportunity for Orihime to respond, Rukia stormed off again.

Before she could even go around the corner, she felt violently ill and rushed into the closest bathroom. With the drama she was having, it was no wonder her sensitive pregnant body was feeling at its worst.

-

Ichigo might not remember his wife, but he knew he didn't like to see her cry. Even though he knew she had all the characteristics of a woman he despised, knowing her tears were his fault made him feel guilty. And that made him angry.

He told everyone he couldn't remember her at all and it was true danm it. But what was the strange overwhelming feeling he had when he did accept that he had a wife come forbiddingly every time he thought of his fiery ice wife and their marriage. He didn't know what caused it or how to make it go away.

All he knew was that his marriage was fucked up and that it was all due to the fact that he married a gold digging wife.

Regardless though, he got no enjoyment from watching her walk away from him. It made him feel something a lot like fear and he hated it. He was Ichigo he ruled the most powerful gang in Japan and he feared nothing…particularly not a women.

Ichigo glared at the door that Rukia had ran through. Memory or no memory he would not let his wife bring him down on his knees.

"That must have been some fight for her to go storming out of this room without her coat. The temperature is below freezing in here and she doesn't look like the kind of girl who storms in and out."

Ichigo's head snapped up at the sound of the doctor's voice. He didn't know how long he was staring at the door, waiting for his wife to come storming back in. Though why he should, he didn't know.

"We weren't fighting."

"You could have fooled me."

The tension inside Ichigo's mind increased a notch. "My relationship with my wife has nothing to do with you and I would like it if I didn't have to discuss her with you."

"That's not true. As I discussed before your amnesia is psychologically based. I would say your relationship with Rukia is the key to your medical condition while your health is my responsibility."

Ichigo's jaw clenched again at the mention of Rukia's maiden name. He didn't like the familiarity the doctor used with his wife. Japanese doctors knew this but the doctor and his wife were both American born. Common sense told him to let the bastard alone but his manly instincts wouldn't let him leave it alone.

"Nether less", he said through gritted teeth. "I don't want to talk about my _wife_, with you."

"I can't force you to but she's been through a lot since the accident. Your memory loss and your refusal to see her have been hard on her. She's vulnerable right now. Try to remember that."

"I didn't refuse to see her."

Doctor James brow rose up. "You did."

"Once."

"You never asked for her after that."

"She is my wife. She doesn't need a fucking invitation to visit me!"

"Perhaps someone should have told her that."

Ichigo said nothing.

"Yes well." The doctor lifted up Rukia's coat from where it dropped, but Ichigo still had a firm grip on the sleeve. The doctor pulled gently. "Why don't you let me take this to her?"

Ichigo forced himself to let it go. An inexplicable twinge in his chest. Was the doctor interested in Rukia more than his profession allowed?

She was beautiful and if the strong aura of sweetness surrounded her was not genuine; she was a far better actress than he thought. For most possessive men like him, the combination was irresistible. These thoughts made his head ached. He hated the fact that everything didn't seem right. But for some reason, watching the doctor leave with Rukia's coat made him ache.

A second later, Orihime walked in with a red cheek, tears falling down her face and her superbly glossed lips trembled.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked more out of irritation than concern.

Which wasn't fair to Orihime…even though her voice was loud and hard to handle. She had been a loyal friend to him for many years. He wasn't going to take it out on her just because of his selective amnesia and the problems that surrounded his beautiful wife.

Orihime shook her head and covered her cheek in a protective manner. "It's nothing."

"Tell me."

"I would rather not." She said averting her eyes. "The relationship between you and our wife is already strained."

"Rukia did this to you?" Immense surprise froze his body. As far as being a bad wife, Rukia didn't seem like the violent type.

"Rukia is upset that I've been spending more time with you than her."

"So she slapped you?"

Orihime nodded after some reluctance. "After giving me a strong warning for me to stay away from you."

Rukia's vulnerability during their discussion must have been a ruse along with her gentle disposition. Orihime insisted that Rukia's façade was nothing short of sweetness. The red mark on her cheek showed that his assistant saw Rukia's true self far better than his doctor.

The dark feeling surrounding Rukia in his mind should have made it easy for him to believe but it didn't. It felt like he was missing a mental block and felt helpless. He should have no problem believing Orihime. After all he knew nothing about Rukia and had a whole childhood with his loyal friend.

If only he could remember.

His head began to pound.

"Are you alright?" Orihime asked in earnest, her hand resting on his arm.

_Funny_ how her touch did nothing for him. Whereas Rukia standing within a foot of his bed had impacted his cock despite all his doubts about her and the lingering effects of a concussion.

"I should be asking you that."

She smiled bravely. "I'm fine. I'm sure she did not mean it and at least there aren't any lasting damages."

"But she still shouldn't have hit. I'll talk to her about it."

"Don't. She's already…" Orihime paused as if to find the right word. "Volatile and irrational. It is expected. Any wife would have been extremely worried by everything that you've been through."

Left unspoken was the fact that Rukia had shown little concern in staying with him in his hospital bed and had stayed away for a week without visiting once. And yet she showed genuine hurt over his first request she didn't come back to see him again immediately. She had actually taken it as an unwelcome invitation to be near his bed from what the doctor interpreted.

Ichigo closed his eyes against the pain in his head. He didn't know what to think and couldn't even trust his own judgment. Not when it came to a women he'd forgotten so completely.

There had to be a reason for that and he could not think of another reason except for the one Orihime insisted on. That Rukia was the kind of wife nightmares are of made of.


	4. Chapter 4

Let's get these two hearts beating faster

Chapter four

-

"Are you ready to go?"

Ichigo turned at the sound of his wife's husky voice.

Rukia had pulled her hair into a messy bun leaving her face exposed to his view. However her carefully controlled features and wary gray gaze told him nothing of what was going on in her mind, nor why she had chosen to come rather than send for his brother to see him leave the hospital.

She had called him last night too, ostensibly so that he could tell Kyuuka goodnight, and genuinely asked how he was feeling and interested in his answer. She didn't rush him to get off the phone when he was finished taking to Kyuuka and wanted to know what the doctor had to say about his condition.

Ichigo didn't want to discuss Dr. James' visit and chose to bring up Rukia's altercation with Orihime. When he told her that he was displeased with her actions her tone of voice grew artic cold. She hung up right after that with an emotionless goodbye. He didn't expect her to show up at his hospital room this morning.

She made no move to take off her coat, but stood straight and proud and ready to exit the door as fast as she can if he said the wrong thing. Either she was the best actress or under her fake mask she was as vulnerable as she looked.

"I've been ready since an hour ago."

She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin in a defensive angle. "I'm sorry you had to wait. The doctor said ten thirty."

Her body language screamed, _Do not touch me…stay out of my space_.

The hands-off attitude hit him raw, especially considering how he spent the morning stewing over the implied relationship between his wife and doctor. Ichigo found himself crossing the room to pull her into his arms before he even thought about it.

He might not remember her but this woman was his wife and no way was she going to hold back from him as if he had herpes.

She gasped when their bodies collided. "What are you doing?"

She didn't sound so composed as she had a moment ago and he was satisfied by that.

His mouth hovered over hers, "Greeting my wife."

She opened her mouth and he closed his over it. He watched in satisfaction as her blue eyes begin to widen and then slide shut, thick black lashes fanning her pale cheek. He closed his eyes too, allowing sensation to take over.

Their lips fit together with perfection he never had with any other and she tasted as sweet as candy. Not at all like a money-addicted whore with dollar signs in her eyes.

Her lips trembled underneath his and he deepened the kiss, claiming possession in a way that was entirely instinctual. She let him, her entire body trembling now as he explored the warmth of her mouth.

He closed his hands around her waist and lifted her against him, his own body shuddering at the contact. It felt incredibly familiar when her arms slid around his neck and her tongue slid along his with tentative aggression. He couldn't believe the impact of one small touch had on him, but he was ready to toss her on the bed and make the sweetest kind of love to his forgotten wife.

Was in fact aching with the need to follow through on the promise of her pliant lips against his.

He broke the kiss. "You taste like I know you."

"I do?" Danm why did she have to sound so hopeful, he felt for the first time guilty for forgetting her.

"Evidently my body remembers you even though my mind doesn't."

She winced as if the words hurt her and maybe they had.

"I enjoyed it."

She let go of her hold around his neck, pressing against his chest as if she wanted him to release her. "Yes. Well, sex was never a problem for us."

It was his turn to wince. She made it sound as if that was the only thing they got right and that it wasn't her fault too. He couldn't deny it but his pride smarted at the possibility.

He released her coat. She stepped away and, looking down smoothed her coat. He let her get away with a small evasion, needing a moment to collect himself as well. He couldn't remember a single kiss being so devastating to his senses. If their sex life was always this explosive it didn't take a genius to figure out how this marriage even began.

So did the birth of his son.

"I was expecting Kaien."

"He's waiting in the car."

"I didn't expect you." He pointed out.

"I didn't tell your family that we got into an argument."

"So they expected you to come?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you tell them?"

She looked at him her expression scornful. "You want me to share our personal problems with the family?"

She was right. He rarely revealed anything to anyone even his mother and older brother. It bugged him that she knew things that not even the closest of his friends would know.

"No."

"I didn't think so."

"So you did it cause you knew I would want it this way?"

"Not really. Yesterday I didn't particularly care what you thought."

He didn't know why but he didn't believe her. "You didn't?"

"No." She frowned at him like an evil midget and he almost expected her to come charging towards him like a bull. "I didn't but it either when the doctor said you were worried and sent him after me with my coat either."

"He was being kind. It was his idea." Ichigo said feeling stung and annoyed she was right that he didn't think about how she was feeling.

He disliked it even more when guilt began to push through with the knowledge she had of him.

She turned away, but not before he saw the look of hurt that crossed her features. "That's what I thought."

"If you're so angry why didn't you tell my family?"

"I didn't see a reason why I had to make everyone worry more." She took a deep breath and turned back to face him once more, this time her face as smooth as marble.

If her lips weren't still red from his kiss, he would never have guessed what had happened between them.

"You Kurosaski's have so much pride on your ability to have strong marriages and family relationships. If your mother or brother knew what was happening they would worry and I don't need them to worry about me. They have enough to worry about with the accident and your memory loss."

"Are you saying we have to pretend that we're a happy loving couple in front of them?" If she knew him well enough she would know that although he was private he never lied to his family.

"You know that's impossible. But I was hoping that you could be a little helpful because your family and our son aren't use to seeing us fight. I don't want Kyuuka to see his parents fighting. He's had a rough couple of days."

"Of course I will. Why do you make it sound as if we're going to fight more?"

"It's inevitable now because of our difficult situation."

"It doesn't sound as if we had the most tranquil of marriages."

"On the contrary. One of the reasons why I want you to be helpful is that before this trip to New York, we got along great and they've never seen us fight seriously but my tolerance is low at the moment. It's practically nonexistent."

"Why is that I wonder?"

"I don't want to discuss this until you get your memory back."

"Your so sure that I'm going to challenge your tolerance?" She made it sound as if he beat her and he never hit women in his life.

"As long as that bimbo Orihime is in our life she'll do anything to get us to fight. I'm not going to stand by as she tries to break our marriage and because of that we are going to fight."

"She's my long-termed employee and my friend. I don't want you to say things like that about her."

"Whereas I'm only your wife…that at least has not changed memory or not.'

Before he could answer the implied message of her words the morning shift nurse came in with a wheelchair.

"What is this for?" Ichigo demanded.

"Hospital policy," she said with a flirtatious smile that made his wife purse her lips cynically. "You have to be escorted downstairs."

Rukia's eyes glowed in provoking mockery, but she said nothing. It was obvious that she knew how much he would dislike being pushed in a wheelchair like an invalid. Her amusement was too much for his liking. She obviously didn't mind watching his arrogance going down a notch.

Ichigo glared at her and then the nurse who had dared flirt with a married man. She was nauseated coy all morning.

"I'm not sitting in that danm chair. You can follow me out but I'm not sitting in that wheelchair." He strode from the room to the sound of the nurse's anxious arguments and his wife's mocking laughter.

-

Rukia sat in the back of the Mercedes and listened to Ichigo and Kaien talk business on the way to the hotel. Ichigo was just as demanding and full of energy as he was before.

The more she thought about how he remembered everyone and everything added to her hurt which seemed to roll around in her belly. Hurt that seemed to grow like a mushroom shape after an explosion with no end in sight.

He was even gentlemanly as they exited the hospital by opening the door for her and helping her get in even though he was the discharged patient. He had made his position clear to the hospital staff that she was his wife.

Knowing it had to do more with his pride than any real desire to reconnect himself to her, the casual touches had netherless left her breathless. Her lips still tingled from his kiss but she wasn't dumb enough to think it was personal either.

She knew what the kiss was about and it had nothing to do with undying love, or primal recognition that happened at a deeper level than the conscious. She wished she could believe it but she spent too much time have fantasies about her husband.

Reality was that even though Ichigo was a modern man in many ways, he was traditional when it came to others. He was also a competitive alpha male who would chase and conquer without conscious thought. He might not remember her, but he knew she was his wife. Which meant that he expected her to be fully open to him.

She knew the mistake of her remote stance the minute the predatory intent came into his eyes. But she was angry at being taken to task over Orihime, without ever once being asked for her own side. Rukia was not a violent person. Ichigo used to know that.

Telling herself he didn't remember didn't help. He would never accuse her of such things when they first met and they were strangers.

So she held herself aloof when she arrived in his room only to regret her stance later. Only by then it had been too late to push off his natural instinct to establish his role as her mate. He kissed he and she had fallen into it like she always did, proving once again she had no self-protection where Ichigo was concerned.

It was not a pleasant revelation.


	5. Chapter 5

Let's get these two hearts beating faster

Chapter five

Mizuki cried as she hugged Ichigo. "It is so good to see you out of the hospital, my baby boy."

"Hardly a baby, mama."

"Always…until the day I die."

Rukia couldn't help but smile at the exchange…she'd seen it so many times before. "I'm sure Ichigo is happy to be out of the hospital as well. We all know he despises confinement of any kind."

Ichigo looked at her with a strange expression on his face. Misa grinned and hugged her big husband. "It's a Kurosaki male trait."

"There is one notable exception_, anata_." Kaien leaned over her and brushed a kiss across her brow. "Don't you think?"

"What's that,?" Rukia asked with a smile for the other couple, despite the prick of envy she felt in her chest.

Kaien looked at her while tucking his wife close to his side. "Why, marriage, of course."

Rukia lost her smile and noticed that Ichigo had too.

"Are you alright Rukia?"

She forced a smile for her mother-in-law. "Yes, of course."

"It is good to have him out of the hospital right?"

"Yes."

Then Mizuki grimaced as if she had only now realized that for Rukia having Ichigo "home" was not quite the same as it was for the others.

The sound of her son talking to himself in the other room told Rukia that Kyuuka had woken up from his nap. She used the excuse of fetching him to get out of the suddenly tense atmosphere.

Kyuuka was sitting up in his crib. His favorite bunny in his chubby little hands. He jabbered at the stuffed animal a mile a minute in baby talk.

Taking after his father's large stature, her sturdy son was already quite a handful and Rukia groaned playfully as she lifted him. "You're such a big boy."

He grabbed her shirt and tried to stand in her arms.

"Mama…Mama…Mama…"

Her son's repertoire of words as by no means extensive, but what he knew he used.

Taking a firmer grip on his squirming form, she cuddled him into her body and kissed his baby-soft cheek.

"How is Mommy's little man? Hm? You are such a good boy."

She kissed him again and he hugged her around her neck.

"Mama." He said again in obvious baby delight.

She grinned at her name on her son's lips. This was one male she never had to wonder if he loved her. Her dad's love and Ichigo's might be under suspect, but not this precious bundle of joy.

"Is your diaper wet honey?" She asked as she laid him on the makeshift changing table.

He grinned and kicked his feet.

She managed to get his pj bottoms off without incident, but then he squealed and twisted with such glee he almost fell off the changing pad. "Da…da…da…"

Ichigo's deep laugh alerted her to his presence close behind her and a second later his large body was so near, he surrounded her with his heat.

He reached past her to brush his fingers down their son's cheek. "Hello, Kyuuka."

Kyuuka squealed again and twisted toward his daddy. Ichigo put his hand on the baby's strong little body and held him in place, talking to Kyuuka in Japanese while Rukia finished changing him. It was like so many times before that, it felt so right.

Then he stepped back and allowed her to lift up the baby, and the sense of closeness was gone.

"Let me take him." She nodded and handed the baby over, sucking in a pain-filled breath when her husband carefully avoided touching her.

Ichigo walked into the bedroom, drying his hair with a towel and stopped dead in his tracks. "You're sleeping in here?"

Rukia adjusted the blankets over her new nightgown clad body. It was a new purchase the one she had worn in the hospital. She hadn't worn a nightgown since she became Ichigo's lover but she didn't feel right being naked with someone who didn't remember her- she felt too vulnerable.

"Where else would I sleep?" In genuine confusion.

"Shouldn't you sleep in Kyuuka's room?" He said gruffly. "Like you said, our son has been through a lot this week."

"I've slept in that room with him for four days and he's been fine." Not that Kyuuka had noticed. Their son slept like a log. "Besides your mom and Sojouro are sleeping in there now that you are here."

"Wouldn't he be more comfortable when he wakes up to see you there?"

"Kyuuka stopped waking up in the middle of the night since he was four months old."

"But these are unusual circumstances."

"Not now they aren't."

"Because I am out of the hospital?"

"Because I am and have been for the past few days. Besides Kyuuka is used to his daddy being gone."

Ichigo frowned. "I have a job."

"That comes before everything else I know."

"And you don't like it?"

"What women would?" She sighed, not willing to get into something that could have no resolution in the current situation. "Look, none of that matter right now."

"It's our marriage, I don't consider that of no importance."

"You don't even remember getting married."

"Which does not equate to me dismissing my responsibilities as a husband."

"Look…it's a waste of time to discuss a past you don't remember. It's not as if you're going to take my word for the way things were."

He'd made that clear enough.

He shrugged, confirming her suspicions.

Then something occurred to her that probably should have earlier, but she had not even considered it. "Do you feel awkward about sleeping with a woman, who is for all intent and purposes a stranger to you? Of course you do. I'm such a baka for not thinking about it before. I'll move into one of the spare rooms."

"Don't be ridiculous. You are my wife."

"But still a stranger".

He didn't need to answer the question; his silence was all the answer she needed.

She couldn't believe how she had been dumb enough to climb into their bed as if nothing had changed between them. She'd been so wrapped up in shock o him seeing her as a villain that she hadn't realized his question could be a masking his vulnerability. Ichigo would rather be boiled in oil than to admit weakness.

She climbed out of bed with heavy silence, trying hard not to let the additional hurt from the rejection appear on her face. After all, this situation was not his fault and she had to stop acting like he did it on purpose. He _may_ have forgotten her unconsciously but the damage was already done.

He grabbed her arm before she could leave the room. "Stranger or not, you are my wife. You sleep with me".

"It's alright Ichigo, really".

"Like you said, we don't want to upset our family. My mother will be mad if she finds you in another room."

He had a point. "I could always wake up before she does."

"Good luck with that. Even I can't even do that."

Ichigo was right; his mother seemed to have superhuman abilities. She hardly needed sleep. Rukia glanced behind her shoulder. It was a king sized bed.

They could sleep the whole night without touching each other. "Only if it isn't uncomfortable for you".

"You make me sound like a virgin". And that was the last thing he saw himself as.

She actually laughed. "I can't imagine anything further from the truth."

She turned around audible with a gasp when he dropped the towel around his waist and climbed into bed.

The thought of sharing a bed with his naked body and not having the right to reach out and touch his body sounded more like torture than a restful sleep.

She went to the opposite side of the bed from him and slid beneath the covers. She stayed as close to the edge as possible, feeling lonelier than when she ever had when Ichigo was gone from a prolonged business trip.

Eventually, she fell into a fitful sleep.

Sometime in the night she migrated toward his side of the bed, waking up in pre-dawn hours with his body wrapped around hers.

She knew she should move, would be mortified if he woke and found her on his side of the bed, but it felt so good, so safe, that she stayed. She lay there almost not breathing, not wanting to end the small bit heaven in a series of days that could only have been dreamed up in hell itself.

She leaned forward the tiniest bit so she could inhale his scent and found herself on her back being kissed to within an inch of her life without the slightest warning.

It wasn't the first time this had happened.


End file.
